1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in a medicine administering apparatus suitable for administering, for example, powder-like and granular medicine to a patient.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, administering medicine into the lungs of an asthma patient or the like is carried out, for example, by a method to inject the medicine into the patient, where the patient inhales the medicine by using a liquid aerosol sprayer, or where the patient inhales fine and granular medicine (having a grain size, for example, ranging from 5 to 10 .mu.m) filled in a capsule upon breaking the capsule. Of these medicine administration methods, the method where the patient inhales fine and granular medicine involves inhaling medicine filled in a capsule upon breaking the capsule. Medicine in an amount corresponding to a plurality of doses is accommodated in a medicine administering apparatus, from which medicine in an amount corresponding to one dose is measured and taken out to be administered to the patient.
Another manner of administering the medicine to the patient is, for example, employed in a medicine administering apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Tokuhyohei) 3-504457. This medicine administering apparatus includes a disc-shaped administering unit formed with a plurality of administering holes. The administering unit is located at the bottom section of a material accommodating container in which powder material such as medicine or the like is accommodated, so that each administering hole of the administering unit is loaded with the material. A scraper is disposed in contact with the upper surface of the administering unit. The scraper scrapes an excessive portion of the material projected above each administering hole by rotating the administering unit.
In order to carry out medicine administration using this medicine administering apparatus, first the medicine as the powder material is accommodated within the material accommodating container, and then the medicine is dropped into each administering hole of the administering unit. Thereafter, an excess amount of the medicine projected above each administering hole is scraped by the scraper, thereby measuring and distributing the medicine in an amount corresponding to one dose. In this state, a patient holds the mouth piece of the medicine administering apparatus in his or her mouth and inhales the distributed medicine through the mouth piece. A medicine administering apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-47190 is constructed and arranged similarly to that discussed above and disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-504457.
Additionally, the above method of medicine administration, where medicine in an amount corresponding to one dose is measured and taken out from in an amount of medicine corresponding to the plural doses, is used in a medicine administering apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 59-88158. This medicine administering apparatus includes a blister case having a plurality of blisters which are circularly arranged. Each blister contains medicine corresponding to one dose and is adapted to be opened when each dose is to be made, so that the medicine in the blister is inhaled by a patient.
The above-discussed conventional medicine administering apparatuses are arranged such that medicine is dropped into an administering hole or the like under gravity, thereby distributing the medicine in the amount corresponding to one dose. Accordingly, the medicine administering apparatus uses a predetermined vertical locational relationship, so that the medicine cannot be accurately distributed when the medicine administering apparatus is in an inclined state. This requires the patient to raise up during medicine administration, thereby rendering medicine administration troublesome.
Of the above conventional medicine administering apparatuses, ones disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-504457 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-47190 are arranged such that the medicine is dropped into each medicine administering hole and followed by scraping the excess medicine. However, there is the possibility that granular medicine partly cakes owing to humidity or the like, so that a difference in density occurs between a caked part and a granular part in the medicine. As a result, even though the medicine is distributed for each dose in the same way, a difference in actual amount of the medicine unavoidably occurs among respective portions distributed to be dosed. This makes it impossible to administer a predetermined amount of the medicine to the patient.
Difficulties have also been encountered in the above-discussed conventional medicine administering apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 59-88158, in which the blister case has a plurality of the blisters for a plurality of doses. That is, the number of the blisters formed in the blister case is limited, and therefore a spare blister case is required to be carried by a patient.